Area Of Forest Plantations Research Articles

Diversity of Bird Species in Training and Model Forest of Faculty of Forestry Science, National University of Laos A case study of Napo Village, Sangthong District, Vientiane Capital

This research are the objectives to study the diversity of bird species in 3 different forest areas: forest plantation area, agricultural land and natural forest area. Which the tools used in the study are the interviews with people who found types of bird species in the area and direct survey belong point transects or point count with take note and then analyzed by formula frequency ratio and dominant ratio. From the interview, there are 53 species of birds, 43 genus and 9 orders in the study area as forest plantation area of 30 species, 24 genus, 6 orders, agricultural land area of 31 species, 24 genus, 9 orders, and nature forest area of 12 species, 10 genus, 3 orders. From the actual survey in 3 areas it was found that there are 49 bird species, 37 genus and 11 orders. Species were not found in the survey but found in the interview of 17 species, 16 genus, 7 orders, and species found outside of the interview of 15 species, 14 genus, 6 orders. In that there are 2 species in the prohibited category of poultry or his list 1, namely: the Nokkotpeut (Centropus sinensis), and the KaiKuaNin (Lophura diardi), but from the actual survey it was found only by the NokkotPeut (Centropus sinensis), As for the KaiKuaNin (Lophura diardi) is not found, Status by Threatened Species List of IUCN and aquatic and wildlife list of Laos: 7 species and 1 species on the list (1) of 2008 aquatic and wildlife.

Landscape Dynamics and Environmental Fragility Zoning in Hinh River Basin: Insights for protecting natural ecosystems

The landscapes in the Hinh River Basin are crucial and highly sensitive to climate change for the coastal province of Phu Yen and the entire south-central coastal region of Vietnam, offering vital environmental services to its downstream areas. Hinh River Basin has a rich system of rivers and streams and abundant surface water resources. However, it remains one of the region's top localities at risk and a very vulnerable region. This study aims to evaluate the changes in landscape (LC) over 10 years (2010-2023) and predict LC over the next six years using machine-learning (ML) algorithms on Google Earth Engine. To achieve these study goals, we establish: (i) potential environmental fragility (PEF) levels based on: terrain slope; geological domains; river hierarchy; percentage of sand in soil; annual mean precipitations; and (ii) emergent environmental fragility (EEF) levels through the addition of LC parameter to model. The methodology includes integrating the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) into a Geographic Information System (GIS). Results show that three LC types (water, annual industrial crop, forest) are related to extremely high EEF. The predictive model suggests that, by 2030, the forest and annual industrial crop LCs in the study area will increase by around 20%. The analysis results show that there has been an increase in the area of planted forests, which can confirm the futher effectiveness of agricultural, forestry, afforestation and forest protection programmes in the study area (Plan for the implementation of forestry development strategy for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, Phu Yen Province, No 126/KH-UBND 13/7/2021; and Decision on the approval of the project for planting 15 million trees in Phu Yen Province for the period 2021-2025, No 1646/QĐ-UBND 16/11/2021).

Impact of forest fire severity on soil physical and chemical properties in pine and scrub forests in high Andean zones of Peru

Forest fires are the main threat to ecosystems and human life. The frequency, seasonality, extent and severity of fires affect ecosystems and the physical and chemical properties of the soil by direct (heating) and indirect (ash) effects. This could affect biodiversity and forest residency in the face of climate change. In this study, we evaluated the impact of fire severity on soil physical and chemical properties caused by forest fires in a high Andean area of Peru. For this purpose, the severity levels, the degree of hydrophobicity, and the physical and chemical properties of the soil were analyzed by sampling in affected areas (Pinus radiata D. Don plantation and shrubland) and unaffected areas. The results showed a very low severity in soil components, with a strong hydrophobicity, more persistent in the forest plantation area than in the shrubland. The physical properties of the soil did not show variations; however, in the Pinus plantations they showed variations in their chemical properties such as pH, electrical conductivity, organic matter, nitrogen and cation exchange capacity compared to areas not affected by the forest fires. Likewise, in the study area an adequate regeneration process was evidenced; in fact, it is important to apply mechanisms to accelerate the restoration of the vegetation cover and the physical and chemical quality of the vegetation.

Understanding Japan's Land-use Dynamics between 1987 and 2050 using Land Accounting and Scenario Analysis

Amidst global concerns about land use change and its far-reaching impact on biodiversity and human well-being, there is a growing need to understand how land use stock and flow changes over time through land use accounting. While existing studies on land accounting have focused on historical land changes, little attention has been paid to future transitions. This study assessed historical patterns and projected future shifts in land use dynamics from 1987 to 2050 across Japan by combining high-resolution land use and land cover datasets, land change simulations, and land accounting. In the analyses, particular attention was paid to the historical and future trends of farmland abandonment by leveraging data at 100-m resolution built on national vegetation surveys. High-resolution analysis of farmland abandonment issue with national scale in Japan is a novelty. From 1987 to 1998, the land stock analysis results showed a pronounced marked increase in residential land (10.4%) and grassland (16.9%); the flow analysis results showed that urban residential sprawl expansion was mainly formed by secondary (32.6%) and plantation (21.1%) forest areas, coinciding with increasing population and economic growth. Projections from 2010 to 2050 indicate a marked increase in abandoned farmland (67.2% per decade), a trend influenced by rapid population decline and presumably agricultural policies, especially significant in regions such as Hokkaido and Kyushu. The findings of this study are crucial for shaping policy and decision-making, underlining the need for sustainable land management strategies that effectively balance urban growth, agricultural productivity, and environmental preservation in Japan.

Carbon storage through China’s planted forest expansion

China’s extensive planted forests play a crucial role in carbon storage, vital for climate change mitigation. However, the complex spatiotemporal dynamics of China’s planted forest area and its carbon storage remain uncaptured. Here we reveal such changes in China’s planted forests from 1990 to 2020 using satellite and field data. Results show a doubling of planted forest area, a trend that intensified post-2000. These changes lead to China’s planted forest carbon storage increasing from 675.6 ± 12.5 Tg C in 1990 to 1,873.1 ± 16.2 Tg C in 2020, with an average rate of ~ 40 Tg C yr−1. The area expansion of planted forests contributed ~ 53% (637.2 ± 5.4 Tg C) of the total above increased carbon storage in planted forests compared with planted forest growth. This proactive policy-driven expansion of planted forests has catalyzed a swift increase in carbon storage, aligning with China’s Carbon Neutrality Target for 2060.

Study on Comparative Analysis of Production of Dry Fruit Economic Forest Products Based on Big Data

The analysis of economic forest products production in Shandong Province mainly focuses on economic forest production and output value as well as economic forest plantation area, capital and labour input. By analysing the above, the basic situation of economic forest products production in Shandong Province can be understood on a macro level, laying the foundation for the subsequent study of the relevant data of the farmers, and at the same time providing a reference for the relevant management. There is an obvious gap between the production value of economic forest products in Shandong Province and that of the whole country. By combining modern information technologies such as 3S, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing and other modern information technologies, we have established an integrated modern forest cultivation technology system ranging from the intelligent evaluation of forest terrain conditions, ecological environment simulation and simulation to the precise monitoring and diagnosis of forest growth, intelligent equipment and variable irrigation and fertilisation, etc. It is of great practical significance to expand the scale of production value of economic forest products in Shandong Province and narrow the gap with the national average level by carrying out research on the production and management efficiency of economic forest products in Shandong Province.

Variation in water utilization by mammal diversity in Khao Phaeng Ma Non-hunting area, Thailand

Access to suitable water sources is important for mammals. This study aimed to compared mammal diversity and water use among water springs, standard artificial ponds, and water pans within the Khao Phaeng Ma Non-Hunting Area in 2020 and 2021. Two camera traps were installed at each water sources for 749 nights with a total of 12 camera traps of 6 water sources. A total of 19,467 photographs were recorded comprising 13,777 photographs of gaur (Bos gaurus, vulnerable and the most important species in the area), and 5690 photographs of other mammals. In the wet season, relative use was highest at standard artificial pond number 2, which is established in the forest plantation area (4 × 4 m spacing, 12–20 m height, and 60%–80 % crown cover) and has a high volume of water, and at water pan number 1, which mimics a natural water spring in the man-made grassland and can supply water to mammals throughout the year. In the dry seasons, relative use was highest at water pan numbers 1 and 2; at the same time, other water sources dried up. During the study period, the number of mammal species was highest at water pan number 1 (10 species, diversity index [H′] = 1.38), and water pan number 2 (11 species, H′ = 1.75). Grazers and browsers, including gaur, sambar deer (Rusa unicolor), northern red muntjac (Muntiacus vaginalis), omnivores (e.g. wild boar, Sus scrofa), and Asian black bear (Ursus thibetanus), used the water pan in the artificial grassland and standard artificial pond in the forest plantation rather than the water spring in the dry evergreen forest. Beside forest types, the use of water springs was associated with water period (months), while the use of standard artificial pond and water pans was associated with water surface area, water depth, altitude, species diversity, and species richness, and number of mammals photographed. The results show that water pans were more suitable for utilization by mammals than are other water sources.

Artificial afforestation increased the distribution area and landscape complexity of planted forests in Tibet over the past 30 years

Afforestation plays an important role in improving the ecological environment and promoting local economic development in countries around the world. Although the artificial afforestation project in Tibet has been conducted for more than 30 years since in 1990 s, few studies have examined the dynamic changes in landscape patterns of planted forests in this region since the implementation of the project. This study used Google Earth Engine (GEE) and Landsat data from 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2020 to construct a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time series curves and an optimal classification model based on the Jeffries-Matusita (J-M) distance. Then, the changes in landscape indices of planted forests in the Tibet Autonomous Region over the past 30 years were examined. The results showed that the area of planted forests increased from 9889.20 ha to 165,879.36 ha by artificial planting, with an average annualized growth rate of about 9.86%. In terms of the landscape pattern, the connectivity and aggregation degree of planted forests increased; the Cohesion (COH) and Aggregation Index (AI) increased by 44.60% and 26.03%, respectively. However, the fragmentation indices also increased to a certain extent due to the increased area and discontinuous planting; the Number of Patches (NP), Patch Density (PD) and Landscape Shape Index (LSI) increased by 32,262, 0.03 and 138.88, respectively. Among the seven regions of Tibet, these changes were most obvious in Lhasa, Qamdo and Shannan regions. Our results indicate that the planted forest area has significantly increased over the past 30 years although the landscape complexity has also increased because of discontinuous planting. These findings highlight the remarkable achievements of the Tibetan afforestation project over the past 30 years.

Global Forest Plantations Mapping and Biomass Carbon Estimation

AbstractManagement of forest plantations is a natural based solution to the global‐scale mitigation of climate change; however, the role of carbon sequestration remains poorly understood, and this is hampered by a lack of detailed distribution on the global forest plantations. For the first time, we generated a global spatial distribution for forest plantations (GSDFP) during 2015 at a spatial resolution of 250 m using hierarchical extraction based on a machine learning algorithm taking time series of MODIS and ALOS PALSAR imagery as the source data, and finally estimates the biomass carbon stored in forest plantations. The resultant map was validated using reference samples visually interpreted, as well as reference samples collected from previous studies, and inter‐compared with statistical forest plantation area and regional forest plantation maps, and the GSDFP was found to accurately represent the spatial distribution of forest plantations around the globe. Globally, forest plantations account for 7.35% (360.22 × 104 km2) of the global forest area and are estimated to contribute 4.60% (12.85 Pg C) of global forest biomass carbon. The forest plantation map and biomass carbon stock estimates will assist forest management and provide a benchmark for the estimation of the forest plantation carbon sink.

The Precious Potential of the Sacred Tree Chamaecyparis obtusa (Siebold & Zucc.) Endl. as a Source of Secondary Metabolites with Broad Biological Applications.

Chamaecyparis obtusa (Siebold & Zucc.) Endl., which belongs to the Cupressaceae family, occurs naturally in North America and Asia, especially in Korea, Taiwan and Japan, where it is an evergreen, coniferous, sacred, ethnic tree. It has many useful varieties that are widespread throughout the world and grown for decorative purposes. It is most commonly used as an ornamental plant in homes, gardens or parks. It is also widely used in many areas of the economy; for example, its wood is used in architecture as well as furniture production. In addition, oil extracted from Chamaecyparis obtusa is increasingly used in cosmetology for skin care. Due to its wide economic demand, mainly in Japan, it represents the largest area of plantation forest. Despite this, it is on the red list of endangered species. Its use in ethnopharmacology has led to more and more research in recent years in an attempt to elucidate the potential mechanisms of its various biological activities, such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticancer, antidiabetic, antiasthmatic, anti-inflammatory, antiallergic, analgesic and central nervous system effects. It has also been shown that Chamaecyparis obtusa can be used as an insect repellent and an ingredient in plant disease treatment. This thesis provides a comprehensive review of the biological studies to date, looking at different areas of the economic fields of potential use of Chamaecyparis obtusa.

Prospects for commercial tree farming in Colombia

Over the next few decades, the area of planted forests required to satisfy worldwide demand for fiber, timber, and environmental services will need to increase by tens of millions of hectares (Mha). As no single nation can accommodate this expansion, planting sites in multiple countries must be identified. One prospective location is Colombia, which boasts nearly 26 Mha of land suitable for commercial tree planting, fair-to-excellent growth rates for major industrial species, good professional expertise, seaports on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, and low-to-moderate land prices. Yet, despite these outstanding assets, tree plantations in Colombia cover only 542 thousand hectares (ha), with almost 90 percent located in three distinct regions: the Andean, Orinoco, and Caribbean. Constraints to commercial tree farming in Colombia include cultural preferences for non-wood products in construction and domestic applications, low capacity for processing industrial roundwood, and lack of reliable wood supplies needed for firms to scale up operations. While land prices are attractive in the remote Orinoco Region, they are considerably higher in more accessible regions, such as the Andean and Caribbean, which are closer to markets, mills, and ports. These factors along with security problems, low levels of formal land titling, and property rights issues in rural areas can complicate operations and add risk to investments in plantation forestry. With land for tree planting at a premium and increasing global demand for wood, fiber, and carbon sequestration, Colombia’s plantation sector stands to profit, provided it can successfully address the barriers to its growth.

Kajian Erosi pada Hutan Tanaman Industri di Kecamatan Tompobulu Kabupaten Maros

The small value of erosion on a land is sometimes ignored even though it can sometimes have an effect on a land. Industrial plantation forests (HTI) are present as a government effort to combine timber production and forest rehabilitation. However, the problems faced are low land productivity, decreased soil fertility due to erosion processes in the soil layer. The research hypothesis is that the use of a layered canopy, good soil infiltration will reduce the rate of erosion and surface flow. This research aims to study the amount of erosion in industrial plantation forests in Tompobulu District, Maros Regency. This research was conducted in January-February 2022 in Bahagia Hamlet, Bontomanurung Village, Tompobulu District which was carried out using the erosion plot method. Erosion plots were made in two stands in monoculture and agroforestry industrial plantation forest areas. The measurement results of the amount of flow rate in monoculture HTI is greater than agroforestry HTI which each has a surface flow, namely 113.86 m3/ha and 55.43 m3/ha. While the erosion rate in monoculture HTI is greater than agroforestry HTI, each of which has an erosion rate, namely in monoculture HTI of 0.19 tons/ha and agroforestry HTI of 0.06 tons/ha. The estimated value of annual erosion and tolerable soil loss (TSL) in each stand, namely monoculture HTI is 2.57 tons/ha/year and 4.69 tons/ha /year, while in agroforestry HTI respectively 1.45 tons/ha/year and 9.69 tons/ha/year. Each of the two stands produced estimates of annual erosion that were smaller than the tolerable soil loss (TSL). Good interception (use of layered canopy, vegetation with large leaf surface area) and good infiltration can reduce erosion and surface runoff.

Impacts of sustainable management on the spatial distributions of erosion susceptibility and probable sediment yield in a mixed-forested watershed

Forest management practices play multifaceted roles in enhancing the geophysical properties that affect raindrop erosion in the watershed, and consequently, sediment deposition in the reservoir. The current work attempts to integrate empirical and physically-based modeling approaches to quantify the impacts of forest conservation on erosion risk and potential sediment accumulation in the mixed-forested Ogouchi Dam watershed in Japan. The reliability of the empirical model for estimating the total erodibility coefficient (TEr), as a function of various forest properties, was evaluated by applying the mathematical expression to multiple forest conditions and comparing the values to field-measured soil erosion rates. The spatial distribution of the empirically derived values showed that about 25.8% of the Government-managed forests and 45.1% of the private forests have higher risks of raindrop splash erosion compared to natural forests. The TEr value in each small Government-divided forest land (less than 5 ha) was then corresponded to the MUSLE management practice factor (MUSLE P) input in each hydrologic response unit (HRU) in the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model to create a sediment yield distribution map and to predict the amounts of sediment accumulation for different management scenarios. The spatial distribution of sediment yield for the base condition showed that 20.9% of the Government-managed forests and 61.6% of the private forests have higher probable amounts of sediment yield relative to the value simulated in the natural forest. A maximum cumulative sediment reduction of about 14.4% is likely attainable upon the complete control of the Government in the entire planted forest area. Overall, this study effectively utilized the field survey datasets to develop a robust empirical model for quantifying erosion risk and was able to couple the results to a GIS-based model that predicts the amounts of sediment yield under varying environmental conditions.

The role of forest plantations for the native vegetation conservation in the protected areas surroundings

Protected areas are essential for the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services. However, the conservation of these areas depends on the management of their surroundings to promote landscape connectivity. In agricultural landscapes, the preservation of native vegetation in rural properties is one of the main strategies to promote the connectivity of the protected area. Forest certifications that require compliance with environmental laws can work as an important instrument to maintain native vegetation in forest plantation areas. In Brazil, most commercial plantations consist of exotic species, predominantly eucalyptus, pine, and teak. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the land-use/land-cover (LULC) and the landscape connectivity changes in the surrounding area of a protected area between 1986 and 2019 and understand if commercial forest plantations have contributed to maintaining native vegetation on private lands. For this, we evaluated LULC in 1986, 2008 and 2019, focusing on the application of the so-called New Forest Act (NFA). We compared LULC change with agricultural land suitability to check for trends. The landscape connectivity and the importance of the surrounding native vegetation fragments were verified based on the Graph Theory. Property boundaries were extracted from a land tenure model based on the Rural Environmental Registry. To verify the perception of landowners and planted forest industries, we sent a questionnaire with open and closed questions. Our results showed that pasture was the main LULC in the area but has decreased giving space to native vegetation regeneration and mostly to forest plantation and soybean expansion. Pasture with lower agricultural suitability is converted to forest plantation and native vegetation, while pasture with higher agricultural suitability becomes soybean crops. At the rural property level, forest plantations presented the largest area and the largest native vegetation cover compared to other agricultural sectors but still presented a significant riparian vegetation deficit, according to the NFA. Forest fragmentation has increased over the years, even with the increase in native vegetation in 2019 compared to 2008. Regarding the landowner’s perception, farmers and industries have demonstrated knowledge and intent to comply with the NFA, but most do not know the Capão Bonito Nacional Forest (CBNF). Our results show that forest plantations have an important role in protecting native vegetation in the protected area surroundings, and the forest certification helps environmental legislation compliance. However, the conservation strategies between landowners, planted forest industries, and the protected area must be improved, mainly the Permanent Preservation Area deficits (riparian zones) inherited from pastures and which were converted into forest plantations. Furthermore, strategies to engage the local population in conserving the protected area, such as through agroforestry systems promotion, are fundamental.

Analysis of the sanitary state of dendrocenoses of the Chernorechensky forestry of the Orenburg region

To prevent environmental damage from the drying out of forests in the Orenburg region, a necessary condition is to conduct constant monitoring of the processes occurring in the forest fund, arising under the influence of external factors, the main task of which is to build an optimal forest management strategy. The complex of factors of negative impact on forest dendrocenoses is not always the same and depends on the diversity of habitat conditions, soil and climatic characteristics of the territories. According to the results of the study, the sanitary condition of the dendrocenoses of the Chernorechensky forestry is assessed as satisfactory; the main reason that worsens the current condition of the existing plantings is the unfavorable factors of the external environment. Since 2020, the spread of bacterial dropsy (pathogen Erwinia multivora Scz.-Parf.) has been recorded in birch plantations, covering an area of 25.8 hectares. The steady increase in the area of forest plantations of “deep” natural poplar ripeness in forestry, as well as in the Orenburg region as a whole, are the main reasons for the decline in the current sanitary condition. At the present stage, there is an urgent need to revise existing legislation, taking into account an individual approach to forestry activities depending on the characteristics of the subject, while it is important to preserve existing forest plantations, especially in sparsely forested areas, which include the Orenburg region.

Functionality of Zonal Agroforestry Systems on Agricultural Land of Dry Territories

In this study, agroforestry systems (AFSs) are represented by zonal type using the example of agricultural lands of the administrative districts of the Volgograd region for the first time. The average percentage of forest cover in the territories for these categories of land was 0.9%, with the following distribution by zone: real steppe—1.3%; dry steppe—0.97%; and semidesert—0.6%. Cartographic analysis of the spatial distribution of areas of artificial forest plantations, presented in the form of background cartograms, showed the greatest spatial asymmetry and variability in the forest cover index in the semidesert zone (As = 1.68; Ex = −4.08). This is due to the large variation in indicators by occupied space, namely AFS, agricultural land, and arable land. The calculated area of arable land under AFS protection averaged 35% for the region, with the following distribution by zone: real steppe—47% of the area of the zone; dry steppe—22%; and semidesert—82%. The author’s methodological approach presents the exposed AFS area of arable land as open and closed territories. The open territory of the spring period (March) is land at risk of deflation since it is completely free of plants (black fallows, areas covered by spring crops, and tilled crops). It makes up 67% of the exposed area of AFSs. The annual removal of soil from this area of the region was calculated via mathematical analysis. It amounted to 3.08 × 107 tons. Analysis of the AFS species composition showed the following distribution of species: deciduous species—86%; mixed species—8%; and coniferous—6%. This model can be applied to many arid areas to calculate deflationary losses and the amount of additional AFSs needed.

Evaluation of Fungicides as Protective and Curative Treatments against Canker Disease of Eucalyptus urograndis Caused by Chrysoporthe deuterocubensis in Malaysia

Over the years, Eucalyptus plantations have rapidly expanded in Sarawak, Malaysia, accounting for 19% of the total forest plantation area. In a routine forest health surveillance conducted in 2022 at Sarawak, Malaysia, tree stands of Eucalyptus urograndis (Eucalyptus grandis × Eucalyptus urophylla hybrid) were detected with symptoms of stem canker disease caused by Chrysoporthe infection. Given the limited information on the chemical control of Chrysoporthe stem canker disease, there is a growing need to develop effective chemical control strategies to protect and cure Chrysoporthe infection on E. urograndis trees. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the causal pathogen of this stem canker disease in 7-year-old E. urograndis trees in Sarawak, Malaysia, and evaluate the efficacy of various fungicides as curative or protectant treatments on canker infection using artificial inoculation methods. Fungal isolates were first collected and subjected to molecular identification and pathogenicity analysis. Then, in vitro efficacy tests were evaluated using five licensed fungicides: thiram, prochloraz manganese chloride, copper hydroxide, dimethomorph, and mancozeb. Subsequently, the performance of these fungicides was assessed through preventive and curative field experiments on 10-year-old E. urograndis trees using the artificial inoculation technique. Based on the morphological and phylogenetic analysis of the ITS1/ITS4, β-tubulin 2 (BT2), and the combined ITS1/ITS4 and BT2 sequences extracted from 20 fungal isolates, Chrysoporthe deuterocubensis was identified as the causal pathogen of the canker disease, with isolate CHRY18 recording the highest virulence. The in vitro efficacy tests showed that prochloraz manganese chloride achieved 100% inhibition against C. deuterocubensis at 1.0 mg/mL. In the preventive experiment, thiram significantly inhibited C. deuterocubensis infection, yielding the shortest lesion length (19.40 mm) compared to the non-treated control (47.48 mm) at 20 weeks post-inoculation. In the curative experiment, a significant reduction of 54.7% in lesion length was observed in inoculated symptomatic trees after 20 weeks of post-fungicide treatment with copper hydroxide. In conclusion, this study demonstrated prochloraz manganese chloride, thiram, and copper hydroxide as effective chemical controls of C. deuterocubensis stem canker on E. urograndis.

The relationship between energy and non-energy factors and CO2 emissions in New Zealand.

The use of renewable energy as a fuel source and expansion of forest areas are the best ways for reducing CO2 emissions. This study aims to examine the effects of forest plantation area, renewable energies, real gross domestic product (GDP), and technological innovation on CO2 emissions in 9 regions of New Zealand between 2006 and 2019. For this purpose, it employs a pooled mean group methodology. Investigating the regional impacts of various variables, especially the forest area, on CO2 emissions is the main contribution of this study. The results suggest that planted forest areas can reduce CO2 emissions in the long run, but its impact in the short run is not significant. Non-renewable energy consumption is the major contributor to CO2 emissions in both the short and long run. While technological innovation and renewable energy consumption appear effective in reducing carbon emissions in the short term, they still contribute to increased CO2 emissions in the long term. At the regional level, we found that the forest plantation areas in Manawatu-Whanganui and Gisborne are important regions for reducing CO2 emissions. By taking account of these results, New Zealand should take swift action to properly manage and increase the current level of forest areas and if applicable expand them. It also needs to improve the current level of use of renewable energy to achieve its abatement goals.

A system lock-in blocks the uptake of mixed sustainable Eucalyptus plantations in Brazil

Forest plantation areas across the globe are increasing in size and in 2019 Eucalyptus monocultures in Brazil covered 6.97 million hectares (0.8%). These monocultures hardly provide ecosystem services and do not support wildlife habitats. A transition towards more sustainable Eucalyptus plantations is urgently needed to support the provisioning of ecosystem services and conserve biodiversity. This transition requires the development of sustainable business models. We studied the upscaling of sustainable Eucalyptus plantation alternatives in Brazil, by analysing the potential barriers that need to be overcome using the Technological Innovation Systems perspective and semi-structured interviews of relevant stakeholders across the Eucalyptus value chain. Although the provisioning of ecosystem services is improved by alternative plantation management, we identified four blocking mechanisms that inhibit the functioning of the innovation system and as such hamper upscaling; 1) the productivist approach by incumbent actors on plantation management that is focussing only on short-term profit maximisation and results in a strong resistance to change current practices, 2) the weak societal and governmental vision that does not put sufficient pressure to change practices, 3) additional certification to support alternatives is in its infacy to develop niche markets which also hampers the development of financial support, and 4) failed demonstration projects in the past that have led to a lack of proof of concept for further experimentation and knowledge development. These barriers combined lead to a system lock-in, resistant to change and not capable for a diffusion of sustainable alternatives. We conclude that the directionality of a sustainability transformation should be enhanced by formulating long-term goals and strong commitment of public and private actors. We discuss how a mission oriented approach could foster such directionality for the urgently needed regime transformation in Eucalyptus paper and pulp production.

Feasibility of utilization of eucalyptus leaves (Eucalyptus spp) from logging waste in industrial plantation forests to produce essential oils

Eucalyptus is a type of industrial plantation forest (HTI) tree that has high economic value. Almost all parts of eucalyptus can be used. In addition, wood can be used as raw material for pulp, leaves and twigs containing cineol can be used as raw material for essential oils. This study aims to analyze the feasibility of using eucalyptus leaves from a financial perspective for essential oil production in the plantation forest area of PT. Toba Pulp Lestari Tbk. The analytical method used is descriptive analysis, financial analysis with two selling price scenarios, namely the high target scenario and the low target scenario with the criteria of Net Present Value (NPV), Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR), and Internal Rate of Return (IRR). The results showed that the use of eucalyptus leaves as a raw material for essential oils from logging waste in plantation forest areas is financially feasible. With details of the high target scenario, it produces an NPV value of IDR 134,903,510,450 (USD 8,895,714.5), an IRR value of 33.01% and a BCR value of 3.76. The NPV value for the low target scenario is IDR 84,029,947,498 (USD 5,541,045), the IRR value is 21.90% and the BCR value is 2.72.